This invention relates to forwards facing rowing in general. More particularly, the invention relates to a forwards facing rowing apparatus having structurally separate handle and blade looms rotatable about a common sweep hinge axis and including a device for feathering the oar blades during the return stroke of the oarlooms.
Forwards facing rowing apparatus have been known for many years now. Such apparatus have universally employed two oar sections consisting of a handle loom and a structurally separate blade loom. The handle and blade looms have always been hinged at the oarlock mainframe, each by a separate generally vertical sweep hinge, the blade loom being constrained to move backwards when the handle loom moves backwards and forwards when the handle moves forwards, thus allowing forwards facing of the oarsman. This synchronized motion of the two oar looms has been achieved by using a slaving linkage such as crossover link rods, a pair of gear sectors, drums and cables or, in some cases, sprockets and chains, to interconnect the two oar loom sections. The oarlock mainframe is usually mounted to a horizontal teeter hinge that is oriented generally fore and aft to the centerline of the boat hull to permit raising and lowering the paddle or blade to the water. This rather complex articulated system is very poorly adapted to feathering the oar blades by twisting the handles at each end of the handle looms, which has always been a requirement for high performance rowing in racing shells.
The action of feathering consists of rotating the oar blades to flatten them horizontally by turning the hand grips so that on the return stroke of rowing, the plane of the blade will be substantially parallel to the surface of the water. This reduces wind resistance and also forces the blade, in the event it should contact the water, to ride up on the surface and plane, rather than dig in and sink, thereby interrupting the smooth return stroke of the rowing cycle.
When feathering in conventional rearwards facing rowing, the oarsman is taught to lower his wrists to feather, which brings the forwards moving top edge of the oar blade forwards, thereby presenting the blade to the water surface in an upwards slanted direction so as to ride over the surface. However, in forwards facing rowing, the oarsman sits behind, rather than ahead, of the oar handles which is the case in conventional rearwards facing rowing, with the result that should he lower his wrists to feather, the lower edge of the oar blade would proceed it and possibly hit the water. This, of course, would bury the oar beneath the surface of the water, completely disrupting the stroke of the oarsman and, indeed, possibly breaking the oar or, even worse, injuring the oarsman. The oarsman nevertheless has been trained by conventional rowing to drop his wrists to feather the blades, this motion being actually the best way to achieve feathering since the wrists will again be straight for pulling the oarloom during the power stroke. It is therefore highly desirable to rotate the handle grips in a direction opposite to that of the blades in order to achieve feathering in forwards facing rowing.
It is also desirable in forwards facing rowing that the feathering mechanism have as little friction as possible. The oarsman is holding the handles with his bare hands and his hands should not become blistered or over fatigued by feathering. A further reason for low friction is that the oars are usually feathered nearly automatically from the resistance of the water when they are reversed for the return stroke, and a low friction feathering force is important in this function.